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Can MacBook Pro sleep through a battery change?

jsw

jsw

Moderator emeritus
Original poster
Mar 16, 2004
22,910
44
Andover, MA
15" PowerBooks have (or at least had) the ability to sleep through a quick battery change. Does anyone know if the current MBP's can do so? I'm thinking of picking up a 2nd battery for work and am curious if I'd need to shutdown during the swap, which would of course completely fail to impress the Dell and IBM users who work with me.
 
Well, after fighting for so long to get a Mac at work and finally getting this MBP, I don't want it to appear in any way mundane. ;)

If it won't survive asleep, I'll just have to get a remote-controlled inflatable mad jew doll, hide it in the opposite corner of the room, and activate it when I need to swap batteries. The MBP should be able to reboot (must remember to mute audio before swapping) before they can pull their eyes away from his giant claws.
 
mad jew said:
From blowing me?


*Grosses self out, leaves thread*
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I wanted to post something witty here, but am so wracked with nausea that I am unable to do so.

And, no, not nausea from anything other than your post. I had to mention that, lest you post the same thing again.
 
This is interesting. When I first got my MBP, I tried to swap out the battery and the machine died (shut down, no safe sleep restore). Since then, I have played around with safe sleep and regular sleep and I have basically determined, unless you have a huge number of windows open and such, that a shut down and restart is usually faster than safe sleep. Just my experience though.
 
crazzyeddie said:
This is interesting. When I first got my MBP, I tried to swap out the battery and the machine died (shut down, no safe sleep restore). Since then, I have played around with safe sleep and regular sleep and I have basically determined, unless you have a huge number of windows open and such, that a shut down and restart is usually faster than safe sleep. Just my experience though.
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Good to know. I might typically just shut down, but, if I'm in a meeting, you know I'll need to sleep, replace batteries, and resume. Just to show I can. ;)
 
Yes, the MacBook Pro can survive a battery swap. It's not the same as on the old PowerBook, where it stayed in 'normal sleep', though. Every time you put the MBP to sleep, it saves its state a la Safe Sleep. If you remove the battery, it technically goes completely off. Then when you add power again, and turn it on, it wakes up from safe sleep. Not quite as elegant as the older PowerBooks, but still useful.

It also means that every time you put it to sleep, you have to wait a few seconds for the hard drive to stop spinning to ensure it has really saved the safe sleep info before taking out the battery.
 
ehurtley said:
Yes, the MacBook Pro can survive a battery swap. It's not the same as on the old PowerBook, where it stayed in 'normal sleep', though. Every time you put the MBP to sleep, it saves its state a la Safe Sleep. If you remove the battery, it technically goes completely off. Then when you add power again, and turn it on, it wakes up from safe sleep. Not quite as elegant as the older PowerBooks, but still useful.

It also means that every time you put it to sleep, you have to wait a few seconds for the hard drive to stop spinning to ensure it has really saved the safe sleep info before taking out the battery.
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Which explains why it takes so freeking long to go to sleep when I close the lid!
(compared to my iBook, PB)
 
I would test it before you do it at the office, wouldn't wanna dissapoint the Smell and IBM users at work.:p
 
Josias said:
I would test it before you do it at the office, wouldn't wanna dissapoint the Smell and IBM users at work.:p
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Of course. ;)

It took me six years of campaigning to get this, and I want to make it as attractive as possible in the hope that others might want one and actually have a chance of getting one. In my work environment, people get their laptops and a crappy laptop bag, a dock, a cheap keyboard, and a CRT from ancient times (can't throw them away until no picture remains, company is too cheap to buy LCDs). No one - including me - has spent a dime of their own money on work equipment.

However, since getting the MBP a mere few days ago, I've bought a sleeve, a sling backpack (not due to arrive until Monday because of moves-at-the-speed-of-continental-drift DHL, so using an older messenger-type bag in the interim), a tiny BT mouse, a keyboard/screen protector (nice black Radtech 'X' cloth), cleaning spray and cloth, a stand to elevate it for typing, some cool software... basically, even though the MBP costs the same as the replacement laptops at work (just upgraded someone to a new Dell M70 that cost the same), it's going to be the only one with the bling. Sure, yes, it cost me some money out-of-pocket. But I hope it's an investment in a future with more Macs at work, and, at the very least, the MBP deserves to be treated better than the Dell/IBM drones around it.
 
Cool, when I get a mac, i would just buy a sleeve, ms office and a screen/keyboard protector. I would most want a 13" MBP (please with iSight)!!

How much is a screen protector?
 
Josias said:
Cool, when I get a mac, i would just buy a sleeve, ms office and a screen/keyboard protector. I would most want a 13" MBP (please with iSight)!!

How much is a screen protector?
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I use one from RadTech (I've bought several for different systems and loved them all), but, really, almost anything will do if it is soft cloth or otherwise non-abrasive. I like the RadTech ones because they also serve as screen/case cleaners and are washable.

 
jsw said:
However, since getting the MBP a mere few days ago, I've bought a sleeve, a sling backpack (not due to arrive until Monday because of moves-at-the-speed-of-continental-drift DHL, so using an older messenger-type bag in the interim)…
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Link to the sling backpack?

Thanks.
 
jsw said:
Good to know. I might typically just shut down, but, if I'm in a meeting, you know I'll need to sleep, replace batteries, and resume. Just to show I can. ;)
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Unfortunately, switching batteries while asleep isn't that impressive. If you use hibernate on a PC, you can switch the battery in the same way (hibernate is basically the same thing as safe sleep)

I just don't want you to be all like "look how awesome my MBP is" and have all the work guys tell you their computers can do it too.
 
treblah said:
Link to the sling backpack?

Thanks.
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I went with this one, white/silver, with the 12" sleeve combo. That way, if I find a better case for work, I can put my 12" PB in it, so no worries. I was looking for something that was slim - I don't tend to need to carry massive amounts of stuff to/from work.

I'll let you know what I think of it when it arrives (hopefully, on Monday).
grockk said:
Unfortunately, switching batteries while asleep isn't that impressive. If you use hibernate on a PC, you can switch the battery in the same way (hibernate is basically the same thing as safe sleep)

I just don't want you to be all like "look how awesome my MBP is" and have all the work guys tell you their computers can do it too.
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FWIW, I never try to imply the MBP is awesome - I just do things and act like they're perfectly normal. The systems at work don't have spare batteries, and no one I work with buys laptops for personal use, so I'm not sure any of them have ever actually swapped a battery before. Regardless of whether or not it works the same way via Hibernate, it'll impress them (particularly because I don't brag about anything Mac-related, just hope to show by example). And while I know PCs sleep fine - I sleep my Dell all the time - no one else at work does anything other than shut down when they're done and reboot when they want to work again.

So, while it's all normal to you and me, it'll be magic to them. :D
 
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